Les Pauls and Pickup Swaps

[troublehead]

I've come to the conclusion that no matter how many high end pickups I throw into the bridge of my Les Pauls, it always sounds better when I decide to put Gibson pups back in there. I honestly cant remember all the pups I've had in LP's through the years.............WCR, MCP, BKP, Rio Grande, BG, Wolfetone, Dimarzio, and Duncan. Of course there are a few good ones that stand out.............the BG Bucker Dark and WCR Godwood come to mind first. I guess those 2 really grabbed my attention. But still not significantly better than standard Gibson offerings. You want hard rock metal..........the 500T will hang in there with any boutique pup. The Classic 57's are also great and I'm now really digging the Burstbucker 1, 2, and 3. The only ones I'm not completely sold on are the 498T and BB Pro as they are a bit too "edgy/harsh" for my tastes.

Maybe I'm crazy but I think some of that LP "Mojo" gets lost when you go dicking around with non-Gibson pups.

 

[Marshall Law]

I've come to the conclusion that no matter how many high end pickups I throw into the bridge of my Les Pauls, it always sounds better when I decide to put Gibson pups back in there. I honestly cant remember all the pups I've had in LP's through the years.............WCR, MCP, BKP, Rio Grande, BG, Wolfetone, Dimarzio, and Duncan. Of course there are a few good ones that stand out.............the BG Bucker Dark and WCR Godwood come to mind first. I guess those 2 really grabbed my attention. But still not significantly better than standard Gibson offerings. You want hard rock metal..........the 500T will hang in there with any boutique pup. The Classic 57's are also great and I'm now really digging the Burstbucker 1, 2, and 3. The only ones I'm not completely sold on are the 498T and BB Pro as they are a bit too "edgy/harsh" for my tastes.

Maybe I'm crazy but I think some of that LP "Mojo" gets lost when you go dicking around with non-Gibson pups.

I love stock Gibson pickups

 

[Lord Toneking]

I was gonna say that you should know what sounds best by now. Geesh, you've been through just about every pickup known to mankind

Maybe you need to order a new set of ears

 

[charveldan]

I have SH-5 Duncan Customs [brdg] & 59' [neck] in my Les Pauls, i've not had a better combo, i like the toggle switch in the middle with the neck volume about 4 and the bridge volume dimed, it's the Fattest Toan i've ever heard.

 

[blackba]

I had a Les Paul studio where I tried a good number of pickups trying to fatten up the bridge sound. I tried an Dimarzio Super Dist, Rio Grande BBQ, Motor City Afwayu. I ended up putting the 498T back in before I sold the guitar and liked that the best. Maybe it was the classic of gear sounding great before you ship it out.

On my other 2 LPs, I have Suhr Aldrich pickups in the bridge and love those. One had a BB pro stock and the other had a T-top. The Aldrich were big upgrades.

I have never tried regular burst buckers or the 500T, but I do like the '57 Classics. A buddy put those in his Sheraton and I love those pickups in that guitar. I suggested he get a set for his Les Paul Studio lite.

 

[charveldan]

I had a Les Paul studio where I tried a good number of pickups trying to fatten up the bridge sound. I tried an Dimarzio Super Dist, Rio Grande BBQ, Motor City Afwayu. I ended up putting the 498T back in before I sold the guitar and liked that the best. Maybe it was the classic of gear sounding great before you ship it out.

On my other 2 LPs, I have Suhr Aldrich pickups in the bridge and love those. One had a BB pro stock and the other had a T-top. The Aldrich were big upgrades.

I have never tried regular burst buckers or the 500T, but I do like the '57 Classics. A buddy put those in his Sheraton and I love those pickups in that guitar. I suggested he get a set for his Les Paul Studio lite.

+1] i played a Custom Shop G0 that had 57' Classics, prolly my favorite Gibby pup, the 498/500T aren't too bad, not a fan of the Burst Buckers though.

 

[SFW]

I'm currently using the Gibson 490R with an Alnico five magnet in the bridge of my Les Paul Classic. Sounds huge has the right amount of mid range growl that a good Les Paul should. I'm done swapping pickups in this guitar.

 

[Badronald]

Gibson makes good pickups for sure. They have a long history of creating tone benchmarks. They know what they're doing.

Well, sort of.

 

[snowdog]

When I asked the guy that works on my stuff about LP pickups, he said he has put in hundreds of different sets for people and 99.999% of the time he thought the originals were better.

 

[glassjaw7]

I've realized just the opposite; that no matter what amp I plug into, I just don't like the 498 in my LP. (talking dirty/gain here, clean it sounds great).

For crunch and lead tones it always has this stringy and wiry top end and there's no string separation. It sounds very "congested".
Then I plug in my Schecter or G&L which both have JBs in the bridge (one 80s and one newer) and there's the mojo. Instant tone and clarity.

 

[RoidRage]

The Classic 57's are also great and I'm now really digging the Burstbucker 1, 2, and 3. The only ones I'm not completely sold on are the 498T and BB Pro as they are a bit too "edgy/harsh" for my tastes.

Maybe I'm crazy but I think some of that LP "Mojo" gets lost when you go dicking around with non-Gibson pups.

You're Right about a Lot of that... I really dug my BB 3 As well.

It's just that if you want a lot of gain when you try and get it from the amp alone, you lose something...

I get better tone by not keeping all my gain boosts engaged on the amp, and having a hotter Guitar pickup... The BB 3 sounds great, really Rich, but does not have the Bottom End, and the Guts needed for me.

The Motor City Afwayu I find is the Answer... It has that Vintage Vibe, and Enough Gain To satisfy... With Bottom that will Flap your Pants legs!!!

Awesome...

Roid

 

[lester]

I had a Les Paul studio where I tried a good number of pickups trying to fatten up the bridge sound. I tried an Dimarzio Super Dist, Rio Grande BBQ, Motor City Afwayu. I ended up putting the 498T back in before I sold the guitar and liked that the best. Maybe it was the classic of gear sounding great before you ship it out.

On my other 2 LPs, I have Suhr Aldrich pickups in the bridge and love those. One had a BB pro stock and the other had a T-top. The Aldrich were big upgrades.

I have never tried regular burst buckers or the 500T, but I do like the '57 Classics. A buddy put those in his Sheraton and I love those pickups in that guitar. I suggested he get a set for his Les Paul Studio lite.

+1] i played a Custom Shop G0 that had 57' Classics, prolly my favorite Gibby pup, the 498/500T aren't too bad, not a fan of the Burst Buckers though.

That GO comes stock with Burstbucker 1 in the neck and a BB 2 in the bridge. You sure it was 57's? Also, I found it really difficult to find anything better for that guitar.

 

[rupe]

I've been through a bunch of pickups in my '76 Custom...currently I'm digging an old 1980 Dirty Fingers.

 

[Ventura]

It's all up to one's ears and personal preferences. There is no right or wrong across the board. I'm a fan of the '57 Classics, as well as the BB1 and BB2, but I've got a couple Lesters that totally went from zero to hero after I installed aftermarket pups. I've got a '68 Firemist that's now loadde with Blackdogs, thing is insanely throaty and growling now, I love it. My mahogany on mahogany triple pup '57 Black Beauty now has a trimvirate of Emeralds in it, and it too sounds sums better than stock. My other Lesters? No need to screw with 'em as they're beautiful sounding

 

[Anonymous]

I have SH-5 Duncan Customs [brdg] & 59' [neck] in my Les Pauls, i've not had a better combo, i like the toggle switch in the middle with the neck volume about 4 and the bridge volume dimed, it's the Fattest Toan i've ever heard.

thats an excellent LP combo....so is the duncan custom sh5 and the alnico 2 pro in the neck.

something about LP's and that alnico 2 pro....jebus!

 

[charveldan]

I had a Les Paul studio where I tried a good number of pickups trying to fatten up the bridge sound. I tried an Dimarzio Super Dist, Rio Grande BBQ, Motor City Afwayu. I ended up putting the 498T back in before I sold the guitar and liked that the best. Maybe it was the classic of gear sounding great before you ship it out.

On my other 2 LPs, I have Suhr Aldrich pickups in the bridge and love those. One had a BB pro stock and the other had a T-top. The Aldrich were big upgrades.

I have never tried regular burst buckers or the 500T, but I do like the '57 Classics. A buddy put those in his Sheraton and I love those pickups in that guitar. I suggested he get a set for his Les Paul Studio lite.

+1] i played a Custom Shop G0 that had 57' Classics, prolly my favorite Gibby pup, the 498/500T aren't too bad, not a fan of the Burst Buckers though.

That GO comes stock with Burstbucker 1 in the neck and a BB 2 in the bridge. You sure it was 57's? Also, I found it really difficult to find anything better for that guitar.

Yes, 57' Classics, this G0 came from a guy who worked in the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville.

 

[headlessdeadguy]

I disagree. I always end up going to an 80's Duncan Distortion. Next in line would be the 500T... but the 80's Distortion has more "tone". I've never been a fan of the burst buckers or re-issue PAF since I have owned and played a ton of original PAF's. My favorite PAF copy is the Voodoo 59.

My favorite pickup is also an old SD Distortion with the 500t a close second!

 

[joepete77]

I have tried many pickups also and really dig the gibson 500t in the bridge as it has the power to push an amp without pedals if needed and still sounds a bit traditional, cleans up well with the volume knob also. I remember liking the 498t in my old standard also, want to try a dirty fingers out also. 57's can be cool but I have played some bad ones that were just to weak but the ones in my sg were killer. I have an old custom that I am gonna try a new pickup as the orig is just too noisy, I have a sd custom custom and a mcp blisterbucker that I pickup up on here used that i wanna try.

 

[thenine]

I dig the 500T as well. Not a fan of the burstbuckers. Right now I have JB/Jazz in my LPC. Very happy with that combo. Fat but with a good growl.

 

[Mr. Willy]

Guys, what's a good, bright Neck pup with a lot of bight for a LP Custom? Something with a relaxed bass and mids, and lots of treble?